Bunnell hands Bethel boys first loss of season

Andre Khatchaturian

Updated 11:27 pm, Tuesday, January 15, 2013

STRATFORD -- Isaac Vann electrified the home crowd with his explosive dunks and Matt Nolting's 3-pointers deflated the Bethel defense as the Bunnell boys basketball team rolled over rival Bethel, 77-58, in an an electric Bunnell High gym on Tuesday night.

Vann and Nolting combined for 48 of Bunnell's 77 points as they dealt the previously undefeated Wildcats their first loss of the season.

Through the usage of a stifling full-court press and a dynamic transition offense, the Bulldogs controlled the pace of the game from start to finish, essentially leading throughout.

"We want to play for 32 minutes," said Bunnell coach Pat Yerina. "We did a lot of work for conditioning in the preseason."

Four of Vann's 25 points came off dunks, which resulted from turnovers on the other side of the court. However, Vann's most impressive basket wasn't even a dunk: In the fourth quarter, after a forced turnover, Vann drove to the basket from the right side of the court with a defender following closely. As Vann rose up for the dunk, he was pushed from behind by the Bethel defender, however he somehow adjusted his body to lay it in as he crashed onto the hardwood.

Nolting delivered a dagger at the end of the third quarter. The Bulldogs were running out the clock in the quarter and receiving a standing ovation from their home faithful. Nolting then drilled a 3-pointer from about six feet behind the arc to send the crowd into a frenzy and give Bunnell a 60-45 lead heading into the fourth..

"We look for them every game," Yerina said. "Isaac and Matt are two guys that are scoring for us and they're tough to stop when they get going. Isaac is pretty smooth inside and Matt can stick it through and get to the basket."

Bunnell wasn't an easy environment in which to play for Bethel. The home crowd was loud, as the student section incessantly sang, chanted, and made jeers toward Bethel star Daniel Garvin throughout a game that had more of a college feel than anything else. Garvin did score 20 points in the game, but coach Ray Turek was not satisfied.

"He scored 20 points, but by far, it was not his best game," Turek said. "We didn't shoot the ball exactly that well tonight. We only had three 3-pointers tonight, which is quite unusual."

Despite being undefeated heading into the game, Turek did not think his team was overconfident.

"We knew Bunnell was very good," Turek said. "They only have one loss and they're one of the best teams in the state."

The Wildcats now have a blemish on their record as they try to regroup and focus on the next game.

"The one thing we don't know about our team is how we respond after a loss, so we're going to find out," Turek said. "I expect us to respond well."